Top party leadership has instructed party members to hold rallies and other events in every district . PHOTO: AFP

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Commerce Pervaiz Malik has said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has asked party parliamentarians to make people aware of ‘facts’ regarding the interview of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, according to sources.

The top party leadership has instructed party members to hold rallies and other events in every district to address ‘misconceptions’ created through TV talk shows and opposition’s reaction to Sharif’s interview which carried his remarks about the 2008 Mumbai attacks, said the sources.

However, provincial minister Zaeem Qadri denied knowledge of any such instructions. “We do not think the recent media bashing of the party leadership has done any damage,” he said.

A parliamentarian from central Punjab said they had been brought on a very tricky turf by Sharif, the deposed prime minister. He said it was not just the interview but also the party’s reaction to the interview that was perturbing. He said half the party was contradicting the interview and half, including Sharif, was standing by it.

“We don’t know what stance to adopt,” he said, adding that several party members were looking for reasons to abandon the party and the current situation would provide them a good opportunity to do so.

When asked to comment on Zaeem’s denial, Commerce Minister Malik insisted that instructions had been passed by the party leadership, and he would also come to know of them in the coming days.